Iacocca to Resign From Koo Koo Roo Board

Greg Hernandez

Former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca said he is stepping down from the board of Koo Koo Roo Enterprises Inc. in order to devote his attention to EV Global Motors, a new venture of which he is chairman and chief executive. Iacocca, 74, will retain his stake in the Irvine-based restaurant company, which also owns the El Torito, Chi-Chi's and Hamburger Hamlet chains. Iacocca was named acting chairman of financially struggling Koo Koo Roo in March 1998, three months before it announced it would merge with Family Restaurants Inc. Iacocca became a board member of the new company. Also on Friday, the company announced that it is changing its name to Prandium Inc., the Latin root of the word prandial, which means of or relating to a meal.